Driveline for powersports vehicle

ABSTRACT

A Powersports vehicle is disclosed which includes a frame, ground engaging members supporting the frame, comprising at least two front wheel, and a power source for driving the front wheels. A front drive is coupled to the power source and to the front wheels, the front drive being coupled to the frame through isolation mounts to reduce vibration of the front drive through the frame.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a driveline for a vehicle andin particular to a front and/or rear drive for a Powersports vehicle anda method of mounting to a vehicle.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

Front and rear drives are known. Front drives are utilized in frontwheel drive vehicles or in all wheel drive vehicles and rear drives areutilized in rear wheel drives and all wheel drive vehicles to inputpower from a power source such as an internal combustion engine anddistribute the power to front and rear ground engaging members. Frontand rear drives include a housing surrounding a plurality of gearsincluding a ring gear and a pinion gear. The front and rear drives maybe a differential but need not be.

Examples of front and rear drives for applications in vehicles may beseen in any of the following disclosures, namely: U.S. Pat. Nos.8,827,028; 8,827,019; and US Publication 20150061275, the subject matterof which is incorporated herein by reference. A vehicle for use with thepresent front drive is more fully described in our application docketnumber PLR-15-27200.00P (Ser. No.______) filed on Dec. 22, 2016.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a vehicle comprises aframe; ground engaging members supporting the frame, comprising at leasttwo wheels; a power source; a drive coupled to the power source and tothe wheels, the drive being coupled to the frame through isolationmounts to reduce vibration of the drive through the frame. A lateraloutermost edge of the isolation mount is outside a lateral outermostedge of the drive output on at least one side of the drive.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a vehicle comprises aframe comprised of two lower frame tubes and upper frame tubes; groundengaging members supporting the frame, comprising at least two wheels; apower source; a drive coupled to the power source and to the wheels, thedrive being suspended by an upper portion of the drive and a portion ofthe drive extends between the lower frame tubes and a portion extendsabove a top of the lower frame tubes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front left perspective view of a portion of the vehicleframe showing the front drive mounted in the frame;

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the frame and front drive of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged left front perspective view of a portion of theframe shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged right rear perspective view of a portion of theframe shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the front drive and mounting hardware;

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the front drive;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the front drive;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view through lines 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 shows a rear view of the mounting hardware;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 8 showing the right cast legremoved;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to that of FIG. 8 showing the power steeringrack in a mounted condition; and

FIG. 11 is an alternate mount from that shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle front end is shown at 2having a frame front end 4, a front drive 6 coupled to the frame 4 byway of a front drive mount 8. A prop shaft 10 extends forwardly from apowertrain (not shown) to supply power to the front drive 6 in order todrive wheels through outputs at 12. Half-shafts (not shown) would becoupled to the outputs 12 and then to the wheels, as is known. Frontdrive 6, may be a differential but need not be. While the embodimentshown is in the context of a front drive, the present disclosure isequally applicable to a rear drive for a vehicle.

With reference now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, frame front end 4 will bedescribed in greater detail. As shown, front end 4 includes main frametubes 20 having longitudinally extending sections at 22 which neck downat 24 defining front lower frame tubes 26. A first channel 28 extendstransversely of tubes 26 and includes apertures at 28 a, while a secondchannel 30 extends transversely of tubes 26 and includes apertures 30 a.It should be appreciated that channels 28 and 30 receive a lower A-armof the suspension system having an inner end coupled to apertures 28 aand 30 a. Mounting brackets 32 (32L and 32R) extend from tubes 26intermediate channels 28 and 30 and include mounting apertures 32 a.Another channel 34 is defined between plates 36 and 38 and couple frametubes 40 thereto.

Frame tubes 40 include upright portions 42 and rearwardly extendingportions 44. Rear upright tubes 50 extend upwardly from frame tubes 26and include a further transverse channel at 52 providing another mountfor an alignment arm at opposite ends thereof. Frame tubes 50 include afirst mounting bracket at 56 having a mounting aperture at 56 a, and asecond mounting bracket 58 having a mounting aperture at 58 a. A frontmounting bracket 60 is coupled between the upright frame tubes 42 anddefines a front mounting plate 62 for a winch, rear mounting plate 64for a radiator and mounting brackets 66 (FIG. 3B) for the front drivemount 8 as described herein. Brackets 66 include mounting apertures at66 a.

With reference now to FIG. 4, front drive mount 8 is shown having a topwall at 70, side walls at 72 and rear bracket walls at 74. Side walls 72include mounting apertures 76 and embossed mounting areas 78 havingapertures 80 therethrough. As shown, fasteners 82 are receivable throughopenings 76 and 80 to receive washers 84 and fasteners 86 as describedherein. Rear bracket wall 74 further includes mounting apertures at 90for receiving fasteners 92 as described herein.

With reference still to FIG. 4, mounting posts 100, 102 are shown wheremounting post 100 includes an upper post portion 104, an intermediateand arcuately shaped portion 106 and a lower post portion 108. Upperpost portion 104 is notched at 110 and includes an aperture at 112 andlower post portion 108 is notched at 114 and includes a mountingaperture 115 (FIG. 8). Mounting apertures 116 are provided through themounting post 100. Mounting post 102 includes an upper post portion 120,an intermediate and arcuate shaped portion 122 and a lower post portion124. Upper post portion 120 is notched at 126 and includes a mountingaperture at 128. Lower post portion 124 is notched at 130 and includes amounting aperture 131 (FIG. 8). Mounting apertures 132 are positionedthrough post 102. Post 100 includes a lower mounting surface at 140 andan upper mounting surface at 142. Post 102 includes a lower mountingsurface 144 and an upper mounting surface at 146.

Although not part of the front drive mount, mounting plate 150 iscoupled between the mount 8 and the posts 100, 102 and provides amounting structure for a power steering gear as described herein.Mounting plate 150 includes mounting apertures at 152, and indentationat 154 for receiving a portion of the power steering unit, mountingapertures 156 and mounting apertures 158. With reference now to FIGS.4-6, front drive 6 will be described in greater detail. It should beunderstood that the front drive mount of the present disclosure is alsouseable without power steering.

With reference first to FIG. 5, front drive 6 includes a housing 160which houses a ring gear 162 shown in phantom which is driven by aninput shaft 164 which couples to the prop shaft 10 through a universaljoint 166 (FIG. 2). Front drive 6 further includes a front collar 170adjacent a front end of the housing and a rear collar 172 adjacent arear housing 160. As shown, both collars 170 and 172 are positionedtowards an upper edge of housing 160 so as to suspend front drive 6 whenmounted. Collar 170 has an inside diameter 174 (FIG. 4) and collar 172has an inside diameter 176 (FIG. 4). Collars 170 and 172 are alsopositioned towards extreme front and rear positions of the housing asshown.

Namely, a forwardmost edge of the collar is shown at 180 which isforward of a forwardmost edge 182 of ring gear 162. Forward edge 180 ispositioned forward of forwardmost edge 182 of ring gear 162 by adimension of D1 as shown in FIG. 5. In a like manner, collar 172 has arearwardmost position at 186 which is rearward of a rearwardmost edge ofring gear 162 as shown at 188. Rearwardmost position 186 of collar 172is positioned rearward of ring gear 162 by a dimension of D2 as shown inFIG. 5. As also shown in FIG. 5, a top of the ring gear 162 has anextreme upper position shown at 190 whereas a top of the collar 170 isshown at 192 where the top 192 is spaced from a top 190 of the ring gear162 by a distance of D3. Preferably, a line drawn between centers of thecollars 170, 172 does not intersect a center of the output 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the distance from a center of output 12 to a centerof collar 170 is shown at R₁. As also shown in FIG. 5, the distance froma center of output 12 to a center of collar 172 is shown at R₂. In theembodiment shown, R₁ and R₂=117.8 mm. The radius of the ring gear 162 is85.3 mm such that the ratio R₁/Ring Gear Radius is 1.38. Also the arcdefined between the radius lines for R₁ and R₂ is shown at θ, whereθ=83.6°. The acceptable range for θ is between 70° and 170°, preferablybetween 75° and 120°; and more preferably between 80° and 100°. It isalso more preferable to have the collars 170, 172 positioned at the topof the housing, such that the packaging the drive itself may limit theangle; that is, as the angle increases so does the length of the housing160. While the collars 170, 172 are shown at the top of the housing, itshould be understood that the collars 170, 172 could be positioned in alike position at the bottom of housing 160.

With reference now to FIG. 6, the extreme lateral positions of thecollar 170 are shown at 200 and 202 and extend the beyond the lateralwidth of the housing 160. As shown in FIG. 6, extreme lateral position202 is spaced from an outer edge of output 12 by a distance of D₄, whereD₄=30.58 mm. As also shown in FIG. 6, extreme lateral position 200 isspaced from an outer edge of left output 12 by a distance of D₅, whereD₅=30.58 mm.

With reference again to FIG. 4, isolation mounts 210 are positioned ineach of the collars 170, 172. As shown, each isolation mount 210 iscomprised of two isolation grommets 220, a single sleeve 230 and a tube234. Grommets 220 are provided positioned in opposite ends of each ofthe collars 170 and 172. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, each of theisolation grommets 220 includes a head portion 222 having an aperture224 extending through the entirety of the isolation grommet 220. Theisolation grommets 220 also include a body portion 226 which pressagainst inside diameters 174, 176 of the collars 170, 172 (see FIG. 7).With reference to FIGS. 4 and 7, the sleeve 230 is also provided havingan aperture at 232. As shown in FIG. 7, the isolation mounts 220 areprofiled such that the head portions 222 abut the ends of the collars170, 172 whereas ends of the isolation grommets 220 abut the sleeve 230in the collar.

The tube 234 is profiled to fit within the inner diameter 224 ofgrommets 220 and within the inner diameter 232 of sleeve 230. The tube234 has a length such that it fits within surfaces 66 as shown best inFIG. 7. At the rear connection (through collar 172, the tube 234 wouldextend between the embossments 78). Tube 234 is constructed from a rigidmaterial such as a metal such as aluminum or steel, such that thefasteners 82, 86 do not crush the grommets 220 when torqued. It shouldbe appreciated that the isolation mounts 210 could be provided in anyconfiguration, for example as a plurality of components or as integratedcomponents.

To mount the front drive 6 to the front frame portion 4, posts 100, 102are first mounted to the front frame portion 4. As shown in FIG. 1, post100 is shown positioned between bracket 32L and bracket 56 with aperture112 (FIG. 4) aligned with aperture 56 a (FIG. 3A) and with aperture 115(FIG. 8) aligned with aperture 32 a (FIG. 3A). Fasteners would couplethe post 100 to the front frame portion 4. In a like manner, post 102would be positioned on bracket 32R (FIG. 3B) and bracket 58 (FIG. 3A)with aperture 128 aligned with aperture 58 a (FIG. 3A) and with aperture131 aligned with aperture 32 a. Again fasteners would couple post 102 tothe front frame portion 4. Mount 8 and plate 150 (FIG. 4) are thenaligned such that apertures 90 on the right hand side of mount 8 arealigned with apertures 152 and with apertures 132 of post 102.

Fasteners 92 are then positioned through apertures 90 and 152 and arethreadably engaged in apertures 132 of post 102. This positions themount 8 and the post 150 in the position of FIG. 8 whereby plate 150 issuspended between posts 100 and 102. Front drive 6 may then be mountedin the mount 8 by positioning a tube 234 within each sleeve, andpositioning the sleeve into each collar 170, 170. The isolation mounts220 are then positioned in each end of the collars 170 and 172. Thetubes 234 are then aligned with the apertures 76 and 80 in the mount 8.Studs such as 82 may then be positioned through apertures 76 and 80,through the sleeve 230 and then through each of the isolation mounts220. Fasteners 84 and 86 may be connected to the studs 82. The coupledpositioned of the front drive 6 to the mount 8 is shown in cross-sectionin FIG. 7.

With reference now to FIG. 10, the steering gear 250 may now be coupledto the backside of plate 150 whereby the boots 252 and 254 of thesteering gear 250 nest within the arcuate shaped portions 106, 122respectively.

By positioning the collars at extreme locations relative to the frontdrive 6, the reaction forces based upon the torque transmitted throughthe housing are minimized at the mounting locations. By positioning theisolation mounts within the collars, the vibration associated with thefront drive 6 is reduced to the frame and resultantly to the driverthrough vibration. More particularly, torque along two axes is appliedto the front drive 6 which causes reaction forces. Namely, a firsttorque is applied to the front drive as shown at 300 (FIG. 5) throughthe shaft 164, and a second torque is shown at 302 through couplings 12.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the diameter of the body portion 226 of theisolation grommets 220 is greater than the diameter of the sleeve 230.The diameter of the body portion 226 of the isolation grommets 220 isalso slightly greater than the inside diameters 174, 176 of the collars170, 172. Thus, the body portions 226 are pre-stressed upon insertioninto the collars 170, 172. Also, when a reaction load is exerted on theisolation mounts 210 (from the collars 170, 172) the body portions 226of the isolation grommets 220 will compress. If compression continues,the collar will contact the sleeve 230, which adds further resilience tothe movement of the front drive 6. The sleeve 230 may have a higherdurometer reading than that of the isolation grommets 220, such that thesleeve 230 is stiffer than the isolation grommets 220. This provides adual rate spring effect to the collars 170, 172.

For example, the sleeve 230 may have a hardness (durometer reading) inthe medium soft to medium hard range, whereas the isolation grommets 220may be in the range of soft to medium soft. Also, the materialcomposition may be consistent throughout the isolation mounts or it maybe different. Moreover, the isolation mounts may be an integratedcomponent or be in plural components. It is anticipated that theisolation mounts are comprised of a rubber-like substance.

Because the front drive 6 is suspended by the top of the front drive 6,the front drive 6 can be suspended over the lower frame tubes 26, with aportion of the front drive 6 being positioned between and lower than thelower frame tubes 26. By minimizing the spread distance between thefront frame tubes 26, a length of the lower A-arms can be maximizedwhile keeping the same track width. Furthermore, by providing theisolation mounts 220 as disclosed, forged gear sets may be used and havethe NVH levels (noise/vibration/harshness) of much more expensive gearsets.

As an alternative to the one-piece mount 8 shown in FIG. 4, mount 308 asshown in FIG. 11 has a two-piece construction including mount portions308 a and 308 b. Each of the mount portions 308 a, 308 b has a top wallat 370, side walls at 372 and rear bracket walls at 374. Side walls 372include mounting apertures 376 and 380 therethrough. The mount 308 hasfront flanges 378 with apertures 380 for fastening the mount 308 to thefront frame portion 4. Mount 308 would otherwise operate in the samemanner with fasteners 82 being receivable through apertures 376 and 380to receive washers 84 and fasteners 86 as described herein. Rear bracketwall 374 would couple to the posts 100, 102 as previously describedherein.

While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design,the present invention may be further modified within the spirit andscope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using itsgeneral principles. Further, this application is intended to cover suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which this invention pertains.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle, comprising: a frame; ground engagingmembers supporting the frame, comprising at least two wheels; a powersource; a drive coupled to the power source at a drive input and to thewheels at a drive output, the drive being coupled to the frame throughat least one isolation mount to reduce vibration of the drive throughthe frame; wherein a lateral outermost edge of the isolation mountextends beyond a lateral outermost edge of the drive output on at leastone side of the drive.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein lateraloutermost edges of the isolation mount extends beyond a lateraloutermost edge of the drive outputs on left and right hand sides of thedrive.
 3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the drive is suspended by theisolation mount.
 4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the drive includes ahousing and at least one collar is mounted adjacent to a top of thehousing.
 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the isolation mount ispositioned in the at least one collar and extends to at least an end ofthe collar at each end.
 6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the isolationmount extends along a substantial length of the collar.
 7. The vehicleof claim 5, wherein the at least one collar extends substantiallyperpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the vehicle.
 8. Thevehicle of claim 5, wherein the collar is a tubular member ofsubstantially consistent lengthwise geometry.
 9. The vehicle of claim 5,wherein the isolation mount comprises resilient isolation grommets whichare inserted into the collar.
 10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein theisolation grommets include a body portion which contacts an innersurface of the unitary tubular member.
 11. The vehicle of claim 10,wherein the isolation grommets having outer head portions at their endswhich abut the ends of the collar.
 12. The vehicle of claim 10, furthercomprising a sleeve positioned in the collar intermediate the isolationgrommets, and wherein inner ends of the isolation grommets abut oppositeends of the sleeve.
 13. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the drivefurther comprises a ring gear and a forwardmost position of the at leastone collar is forward of a forwardmost edge of the ring gear.
 14. Thevehicle of claim 5, wherein an extreme vertical position of the at leastone collar extends above a vertical height position of the ring gear.15. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein a second collar extendssubstantially perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the vehicle,and includes resilient isolation grommets positioned in each end of thesecond collar.
 16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein a first axis isdefined between a center of the drive output and a center of the firstcollar, and second axis is defined between a center of the drive outputand a center of the second collar, and an angle (θ) between the firstand second axes is between 70° and 170°.
 17. The vehicle of claim 16,wherein the angle (θ) is between 75° and 120°.
 18. The vehicle of claim17, wherein the angle (θ) is between 80° and 100°.
 19. The vehicle ofclaim 15, wherein extreme lateral positions of the second collar extendbeyond a lateral width position of the drive housing and whereinisolation mounts are positioned in the second one collar and extend toat least an end of the collar at each end.
 20. The vehicle of claim 19,wherein a rearwardmost position of the second collar is rearward of arearwardmost edge of the ring gear; and an extreme vertical position ofthe second collar extends above a vertical height position of the ringgear.
 21. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the extreme lateral distancesfrom first and second collars and lateral outermost edges of the driveoutput on each side is in the range of 20-40 mm.
 22. The vehicle ofclaim 21, wherein the extreme lateral distances from first and secondcollars and lateral outermost edges of the drive output on each side isin the range of 25-35 mm.
 23. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein a linedrawn between centers of the collars does not intersect the driveoutput.
 24. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the frame is comprised oftwo frame tubes and the drive extends between the frame tubes and aportion extends below a top of the frame tubes.
 25. The vehicle of claim1, wherein the drive is a front drive.
 26. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the isolation mounts provide multiple rates of resistance inrelation to the deflection of the isolation mounts.
 27. A vehicle,comprising: a frame comprised of two lower frame tubes and upper frametubes; ground engaging members supporting the frame, comprising at leasttwo wheels; a power source; a drive coupled to the power source and tothe wheels, the drive being suspended by an upper portion of the driveand a portion of the drive extends between the lower frame tubes and aportion extends above a top of the frame tubes.
 28. The vehicle of claim27, wherein the drive is suspended by at least one isolation mount toreduce vibration of the drive through the frame.
 29. The vehicle ofclaim 28, wherein the drive includes a housing and at least one collaris mounted adjacent to a top of the housing.
 30. The vehicle of claim29, wherein the isolation mount is positioned in the at least onecollar.
 31. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the at least one collarextends perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the vehicle. 32.The vehicle of claim 31, wherein the drive further comprises a ring gearand a forwardmost position of the at least one collar is forward of aforwardmost edge of the ring gear.
 33. The vehicle of claim 32, whereinextreme lateral positions of the at least one collar extend beyond alateral width position of the drive outputs.
 34. The vehicle of claim32, wherein an extreme vertical position of the at least one collarextends above a vertical height position of the ring gear.
 35. Thevehicle of claim 29, wherein a second collar extends perpendicular to alongitudinal centerline of the vehicle and an isolation mount ispositioned in the second collar.
 36. The vehicle of claim 35, wherein arearwardmost position of the second collar is rearward of a rearwardmostedge of the ring gear; extreme lateral positions of the second collarextend beyond a lateral width position of the drive outputs; and anextreme vertical position of the second collar extends above a verticalheight position of the drive housing.
 37. The vehicle of claim 35,wherein the collars are tubular members of substantial consistentlengthwise geometry.
 38. The vehicle of claim 37, wherein the isolationmounts comprise resilient grommets inserted into opposite ends of thetubular members.
 39. The vehicle of claim 38, wherein the grommetsinclude body portions which contact an inner surface of the tubularmembers.
 40. The vehicle of claim 39, wherein the grommets include anouter head portions at their ends which abut the ends of the tubularmember.
 41. The vehicle of claim 39, further comprising a sleevepositioned in the collar intermediate the grommets, and wherein innerends of the grommets abut opposite ends of the isolation mounts.
 42. Thevehicle of claim 27, wherein the drive is a front drive.